Next - the Swedes!

A day after the Canadians were delivered to Chimoio Paul was flying back up to Moz again with a team from Sweden who were looking at getting involved with the work Mercy Air does in the Delta and with ASAM.

We first went to Marromeu where we stayed at the Mercy Air container base.

From there we flew into the Delta, a journey which used to take YWAM three days in an open canoe but now takes 20 mins in the helicopter

We took teachers and translators..

...who continued with the educational programe that YWAM and Mercy Air have developed.

Using various games and activities basic numeracy and literacy are taught.

People from five villages walked for up to 10 km to attend the classes.

I'm not sure this guy's Brazilian football shirt is totally representative of an actual player!

After two nights in Marromeu we then flew through some weather and on to ASAM in Chimoio.

We visited a hospital that ASAM work with. The tour included the maternity ward, its birthing tables...

and an interesting incubator...

...which amounted to a three bar electric fire bolted to the wall in front of table covered in a blanket and an assortment of electrical sockets.

There was also the hospital kitchen...

At ASAM they visited all the projects that they have developed over the years (education, clinic, agricultural etc) as well as the new airstrip and hangar that we should be able to use very soon.

 Our friends at ASAM have adopted a Duiker who freely wanders in and out of their house.

 After a hectic few days in Moz all that was then left to do was take a quick team photo...

...before flying down the coast on our way back to South Africa.

So, we hope that the reports that go back to Sweden about the work we are doing in Mozambique will release some funding that will enable us to be even more effective.

Thank you.

Paul and Cathy

Watch out the Canadian's are here!

We recently flew to Johannesburg International to meet five guests off a flight from Canada. We fly into Joey's once or twice a year so it always makes a interesting change to the type of places we usually go.

Jo'burg Int. traffic jam

Notice how the professionals always taxi on the line. Talking of which, I have noticed that I usually park slightly to the left, but with lines painted this wide even I found it hard to miss.

Towing the line

Us little planes have to park 3 km from the terminal building and a very expensive taxi brings our passengers out to us - eventually.

White waiting it does give you the chance to get close to and take pictures of other proper planes though.

We flew our Canadian guests to White River where they spent some time in the Kruger Park. A few days later we flew them up to Chimoio in Mozambique where they are working with our friends at ASAM for a month.

We had to delay by one day due to some pretty unseasonal weather but... we finally got into the air and on our way to Moz. Apparently some of the passengers found the flight quite exciting...

An interesting photo of the loos in Chimoio airport...

Seems that if you have limited space (or limited pre-planning ability) you can be quite inventive.

Just outside Beira I flew past the old Grande Hotel once apparently one of, if not the most luxurious hotel in Africa. Now there are fully grown trees growing from third floor balconies. Google it and click on images to see before and now pictures - interesting.

Thank you.

Paul and Cathy

Assortment

Whilst allowing for a potential dash up to Dakar, Senegal for the Kodiak ferry flight, Paul was still kept busy with a number of shorter mission flights.

The first was another trip for Mercy Tech Missions, a Canadian based organisation who are developing a motor mechanic workshop at the ASAM base noth of Chimoio in Mozambique.

Rick (left) and his friends taking the mickey as I let him fly for a short while.

Yet again we fly past Paradise Island just north of Vilanculos.

This is headed up by Rick Cogbill who has a good blog with more pictures and less words than me at: http://mydustyshoes.blogspot.com/

The next two trips we did in our new Piper Seneca III which was kindly donated to us at the end of last year by a business man in Durban.

Seneca taking off from the Mercy Air farm.

The one trip involved taking a missionary who had been evacuated to South Africa for medical treatment back up to Mozambique, along with two mission kids who were returning to their families for Easter. The return flight involved bringing some German and US staff back to South Africa after visiting some of their missionaries in Mozambique.

The last flight was another one for Errol, the policeman who had been shot in the neck eleven years ago (a previous blog entry is at http://www.pcm-mercyair.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-perfect-storm.html). This was our fourth flight for him which enebled him to travel from his home in Kwa Zulu Natal to receive hospital treatment in Pretoria - and back.

On the way there we flew over the Cullinan Diamond Mine.

If you enlarge the picture above you can just see the huge Cullinan Diamond Mine where the world's biggest diamond was discovered in 1905 and which is now in the Crown Jewels in London.

Here's one from the web that shows it better:

 Meanwhile, back in the plane...

Errol in relative comfort in the back of the Seneca.

 

Police and medical staff help transfer Errol to a streacher in Vryheid.

We appreciate that a lot of these pictures are just 'people in a plane' and in themselves aren't very exciting, but to those we flew and the people who received them they were quite important and it is a privaledge for us to serve in this way.

Thank you.

Paul and Cathy

Kodiak Ferry Flight

In response to the blog entry below we must report that Mercy Air has decided to delay the ferry flight of the Kodiak to a later date.

There are a number of factors that led to this including technological, logistical, administrative and weather. We had extra cabin fuel tanks built for the long Atlantic crossings but the approval paperwork which we thought would take only a few days didn't come through even after two weeks, apparently due to FAA staff cutbacks. Without ferry tanks we could have flown the northern route via Greenland, Iceland and Europe but that would have cost more money (which we didn't have) a whole bunch more planning and then there was the weather. The last major concern was that the satellite tracking device we bought for the aircraft didn't work - at all. If we had a problem no-one would of had a clue where to find us.

There were other lesser factors but we eventually made the decision to leave the plane in Maine (in a hanger in Bangor in fact) and make a plan to collect it in the coming months.

We'll let you know as plans materialise.

Cheers

Paul and Cathy

This should be an interesting little trip

Those of you who know a bit about us and the work we do with Mercy Air will know that Mercy Air has been working towards getting a new aircraft ever since we sold our old Beech 18 a few years ago.

You will also know that we 'obtained' one a year ago and Paul went to do flight training on it in the US late last year (http://www.pcm-mercyair.blogspot.com/2012/11/thge-usa-which-is-in-america.html).

Another Mercy Air pilot, John, went to the US a few weeks ago to help Ron with the final tasks in preparation for it's ferry flight to South Africa.

They have now set off from Michigan making their way up through the US and on to the north east of Canada from where they will fly to Africa via the Azores. A more detailed account of the preparations can be found on Mercy Air's blog at www.mercyair-sa.blogspot.com.

What's quite interesting for us though is that Paul will fly up to Dakar, Senegal next week to meet them and fly it down through Africa.

Here's the whole route...

 

...and the African part...

The whole route is 8500 miles of which Paul will fly 4600 miles (7300 km) through Africa.

Thank you

Paul and Cathy

Flood survey

Whilst the Mercy Air helicopter was busy in the south of Mozambique, a consortium of aid organisations asked us to survey a large area in the north of the country.

 

We had to wait a few days till a weather system passed but we finally made it up to Quelimane to pick members of the survey team up.

The loop we flew at the top of the map may not look like much but it was 500 miles (800 km) long and took three hours to complete. The flight up itself was about the length of the UK.

As a lot of the survey area was inaccessible and the situation was thought to be quite bad, the Governor of the Province also wanted to come along and see for himself the extent of the flooding.

The area to the north east of Quelimane was extensively affected.

Where as the Zambezi River, although full, wasn't an immediate threat.

On the way back we had to request left of track due to weather and landed at Beira just after a heavy shower.

There is more rain predicted this coming week so we might find ourselves up there again soon for another survey.

Thank you.

Paul and Cathy

Water water everywhere...

Whilst Cathy and I were in the UK during January, Southern Africa had some pretty grim weather and as a result Mozambique seemed to bear the brunt and had flooding throughout the country.

The worst hit area was in the south and so Matthias and Mickey went with the helicopter to give assistance. Here is their report:

We landed the helicopter during late dusk as the city of Maputo was already lighting up.

What Mickey and I saw today, is only very slowly sinking in as actual reality.

The Limpopo flooding is as bad if not worse than the 2000 floods. Places we used to land in back then, are now under water. People report that Chockwe town was 2 meters under flood waters. Roads cut. Water as far as the eye can see.

Throughout the country, over the past years, Mozambique's national disaster management agency, the INGC, has done a commendable job of relocating thousands and thousands people away from the more flood prone risk areas to higher grounds.

But the amount of water present during this flood, is simply unimaginable.

Herds of animals trapped on smallest high grounds cuddle together. So many people, children, grannies, goats, chickens, cooking pots, plastic chairs, capolanos, beds, blankets and buckets, basically everything what people own and hold valuable, rescued to the roof top of their houses.

People in trees! People wading through strong current waters!

First we started with assessment flights with staff from Save the Children, WFP and Oxfam, but then ended up spotting first survivors in the waters!

As I heard a South African Air-Force Oryx helicopter on the same radio-frequency, I asked him if they were winch equipped and able to come to our GPS position? The first rescue was two women we found trying to swim thru the brown strong current, holding on for dear life to a closed plastic bucket with their belongings.

The helicopter winch operation was a success and their lives were saved.

Now we continued scouting for more surviving groups of people and directing the SAAF helicopter to the exact locations to rescue them. Some families we found had even climbed into trees! How long had they been there?

Continuing the search, we hovered slow and low over the brown flood waters, not wanting to miss any one of them, but the hard fact for me is realising, that I know we must have missed people, who could have been rescued. I feel guilty about that. I pray they are found tomorrow. Government boats are continuing as well.

In this short op together, we saved probably over 20 women with children on their backs, men, weak and old people- this afternoon alone.

A Save the Children team drove to help people a couple days ago at Barragem, but now got stuck themselves. During a 1 hour round trip heli flight we evacuated the staff off the high grounds, back to Xai-Xai. During the 30 second turnaround time on the ground, many children came with waving hands, asking to be flown away too!

As I think of those families on the rooftops I ask my self, what do they eat tonight? All the food got destroyed by the surprising flood waters during the night. How do they go to the toilet, on a roof top? How long will they remain healthy, if they drink only the brown flood waters around them? Do the people of Chilaulani on top of their hoses know people in far away countries care about them? Do they still keep hope?

It was overwhelming to see, we were not prepared for that.

We all need wisdom for tomorrow's work and flights.

Matthias Reuter and Michael Aebi

Crewing the Mercy Air helicopter